Systems and methods of testing the handling of, or response to, transmitted Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) that include a geofenced area. The testing can include providing first location Global Positioning System (GPS) signals to user equipment, causing the user equipment to determine it is geographically located at the first location. A WEA alert can be provided to the user equipment and the WEA can include a geofenced area that does not include the first location. The user equipment can be provided GPS signals corresponding to a second location that is within the geofenced area of the WEA. Verification can then be performed to check that the user equipment displays the WEA alert, or message, in response to the user equipment determining its geographical position as corresponding to the second location that is within the geofenced area.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A system for testing geofenced alerts, comprising: a user equipment; a testing environment configured to isolate the user equipment within the testing environment by preventing the user equipment from transmitting signals to and receiving signals from sources located outside of the testing environment; a signal transmitter configured to transmit geographic location test signals to the user equipment within the testing environment, the geographic location test signals including: a first geographic location test signal corresponding to a first geographic location physically located outside of the testing environment, and a second geographic location test signal corresponding to a second geographic location physically located outside of the testing environment, the second geographic location being different than the first geographic location; an emergency alert output configured to output an emergency alert test transmission to the user equipment within the testing environment, the emergency alert transmission including: a geofenced area that includes the first geographic location and does not include the second geographic location, and an emergency test alert associated with the geofenced area, wherein the user equipment has a processor configured to: receive the emergency alert test transmission from the emergency alert output, receive the first geographic test signal or the second geographic location test signal from the signal transmitter, and if the user equipment receives the first geographic location test signal, cause the user equipment to output the emergency test alert, and if the user equipment receives the second geographic location test signal, cause the user equipment to refrain from outputting the emergency test alert.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first geographic location test signal and the second stored geographic location test signal are Global Positioning System (GPS) signals.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first geographic location test signal and the second geographic location test signal are recorded at the first geographic location and the second geographic location, respectively.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the emergency alert transmission is a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA).
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the user equipment includes a location module configured to determine a location of the user equipment based on one or more received geographic location signals.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the user equipment further comprises an emergency alert module to output the emergency test alert.
7. A method for testing geofenced alerts within a testing environment configured to isolate the user equipment within the testing environment by preventing a user equipment from transmitting signals to and receiving signals from sources located outside of the testing environment, the method comprising: transmitting, from a signal transmitter to the user equipment: a first geographic location test signal corresponding to a first geographic location physically located outside of the testing environment boundary, or a second geographic location test signal corresponding to a second geographic location physically located outside of the testing environment boundary, the second geographic location being different than the first geographic location; outputting, from an emergency alert output to the user equipment an emergency alert transmission including: a geofenced area defined by a geofenced alert boundary that includes the first geographic location and does not include the second geographic location, and an emergency test alert associated with the geofenced area; and causing the user equipment to: output the emergency test alert if the user equipment receives the first geographic location test signal, or refrain from outputting the emergency test alert if the user equipment receives the second geographic location, wherein the signal transmitter and the user equipment are physically located within the testing environment.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the emergency alert transmission is a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA).
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first geographic location test signal and the second stored geographic location test signal are Global Positioning Signals (GPS).
10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising: capturing and recording the first geographic location test signal at the first geographic location; and capturing and recording the second geographic location test signal at the second geographic location; and wherein the generating the first geographic location test signal and the generating the second geographic location test signal is a transmission of the recorded first and second geographic location signals.
11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first geographic location test signal is initially generated and then the second geographic location test signal is generated concurrently with the first geographic location test signal ceasing to be generated.
12. The method of claim 7 , wherein the output of the emergency alert includes at least one of a visual output, an audible output, and a tactile output.
13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first geographic location is within a transmission coverage area capable of receiving the emergency alert.
14. The system of claim 6 , wherein the emergency alert module includes a visual aspect, an audible aspect, a tactile aspect, or combinations thereof to output the emergency test alert.
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September 30, 2019
February 9, 2021
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